Therapeutic
Diet for Insulin Resistance

This low-carbohydrate, moderate-protein and
moderate-fat diet is focused on real foods as the solution to Insulin Resistance
Syndrome (IR), sometimes called Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X. It is mainly
refined foods, especially sweets, combined with deficient exercise that gets
people into trouble so a program based on whole foods, not more refined food
products, is the best long-term solution in IR, and a host of other health
problems as well. It is also recommended to take a good multiple
vitamin/mineral.

Based on human evolutionary history and physiology
this should be your most natural and optimal diet. It reflects what our
Paleolithic ancestors (i.e., before agriculture) evolved eating over a million
years and, as such, has the highest potential of supporting healing and
preventing disease. In addition, this diet is naturally alkalizing, which is
considered by some people to be healthier than the typical American acidifying
diet.

If
you need more dietary support than this webpage provides, the popular diet that
is closest to this IR diet is The South Beach Diet by Arthur
Agatston, M.D.We also recommended reading The Paleo Diet
by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. It gives a good background on the problems of the modern
diet and the advantages of the Paleolithic diet. However, use this webpage as your main reference and refer to these books
only for recipes, background and support.

It will take at least 2 to 3 months to reestablish
normal insulin sensitivity. If there is severe IR or obesity it could take much
longer to stabilize. However, most people will experience some improvements
early on in the program. After stabilization has been shown through lab values,
blood pressures, improved energy, loss of weight (especially abdominal), loss of
carbohydrate cravings and loss of hypoglycemic symptoms, then switching to the Maintenance
Diet for Insulin Resistance is possible. However, it will be essential to
continue to monitor the lab values, signs, symptoms and weight.

With this diet you should not be hungry until
its time for the next meal. If this is happening try increasing the non-starchy
vegetables, nuts, fats and/or protein intake in the meals. Do not avoid
naturally fatty foods, but limit saturated fats. Avoid hydrogenated oils and
fried foods. For hypoglycemia symptoms eat smaller more frequent meals. Try to
eat for hunger and not emotional reasons. If you must eat for emotional reasons,
eat non-starchy vegetables or lean protein. Snacks should be non-starchy
vegetables, nuts, seeds or protein foods.

PROBLEM CARBOHYDRATES (refined and starchy) – The
cause of the problem!

·Whole grains (whole brown rice, wheat, rye, barley and buckwheat)
only in very small amounts.

GOOD CARBOHYDRATES (non-refined and non-starchy)

·Small amounts of fruit are OK but eat it with protein meals and
not alone. Berries are best. No dried fruit.

·Eat lots and lots of non-starchy vegetables. Raw or lightly cooked
is best. These should be the main source of carbohydrates in the diet. Fresh
vegetables are best, frozen is OK but canned is to be avoided except for canned
tomatoes and tomato sauce.

·Consume
moderate amounts of leaner meats, seafood and fish. The best are wild fish, wild
game, free-range chicken & turkey, range-fed beef, lamb, buffalo and
naturally grown pork. Grain-fed means more saturated fats and omega-6 oils. Wild
and range-fed means less of these and more omega-3s. The more omega-3s the
better. Feeding grain to animals, like cows, that were meant to eat grass is not
healthy for the animal nor the person eating the animal.

·If
you do not have a dairy allergy, some dairy is OK. Interestingly, the lower the
fat in milk the more it raises the blood sugar, so low fat milk is worse than
whole milk. But
the best is no milk, it raises the
blood sugar too much, plus cow's milk is for calves, not people. Other dairy
products are okay. Use only unsweetened
yogurt. Limit butter and no hydrogenated margarine.

·Eggs are fine unless you have allergies to them, but the best are
eggs from free-range chickens and eggs grown to be high in omega-3 oils. Best is
no more than 7 per week due to the high fat content.

·Limit
animal sources of saturated fats as found in dairy products (cheese, butter,
etc.) and most commercial red meats.

·Freely
add healthy oils to salads, sauces for vegetables and when cooking lean meats.
Natural palm and coconut oil are excellent for cooking and frying. Flax oil is
high in omega-3 oils but goes rancid very easily so refrigerate and do not heat
and add only after cooking.

MISC.·Drink lots of pure water.·Organic is always best when available.·Cut down on salt but feel free to use other spices liberally.·Except for non-starchy vegetables, the other carbohydrates should
be limited to protein meals.·It is usually safe to assume that most processed foods will
interfere with this diet, even if low-carb.·Finally, it must be emphasized that exercise is a very important
component of success.